LNCE works at the interface between materials chemistry and electrocatalysis. Our focus is on two key areas: (1) the synthetic development of multicomponent nanocrystals (NCs) through colloidal chemistry and (2) their application as electrocatalysts for small molecule conversion, such as CO, CO2 or nitrate reduction.
Synthetic development of multicomponent nanocrystals
Multicomponent NCs refer to nano-objects composed of multiple domains (such as core@shell structures, dimers, or segmented particles) or consisting of multiple elements (including multimetallic alloys, multication oxides, and chalcogenides). These nanocrystals combine different materials or phases at the nanoscale, resulting in unique properties that are distinct from those of single-component NCs.
The development of NCs remains largely a process of trial and error because the precise chemistry and mechanisms underlying their nucleation and growth are still not fully understood. While researchers have gained some “intuition” for synthesizing single-component NCs, clear guidelines for the synthesis of multicomponent NCs are lacking.
At LNCE, our focus has been on discovering innovative approaches to synthesize various classes of multicomponent NCs: multinary oxides, copper-based NCs, quantum dots or even liquid metals. To advance this field, our team is pioneering alternative synthetic methods informed by a better understanding of the chemistry involved in NC formation. We achieve this by employing a combination of in-situ X-ray measurements and more conventional ex-situ techniques, allowing us to explore and control the processes that govern NC formation and growth.
Electrocatalytically-active nanocrystals
Defining design principles to precisely control nanocrystals composition and morphology is scientifically interesting and technologically important at the same time. Catalytic properties are strongly impacted by the catalyst size and shape. Furthermore, at the nanoscale new properties may arise which deviate from the bulk behavior.
LNCE is exploiting such advantages of colloidal chemistry to build solid relations between catalyst structure and its activity and to gain deeper insights into the mechanisms of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), CO reduction reaction (CORR) and nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR).